"And they were married and given in marriage, and were blessed according to the multitude of promises which the Lord had made unto them....and surely there could not be a happier people who had been created by the hand of God."
---Book of Mormon 4 Nephi v.11&16

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Boston

May 18, 2011

Boston Massacred

Quite a few months ago Josh's work sent him to a conference to Boston for a few days.The army paid for his gas to get there, they paid for a room in a very fancy hotel—The Liberty Hotel.I thought this would be a great opportunity to come along and tour the historic city of Boston.I asked the kids if they wanted to come and they said they were just too busy with school. ??????????What kinds of kids say that?Here I'm offering to take them out of school for a vacation and this is the response I get?

I almost gave in and let them stay home, but then one of my best friends lives near Boston, and I really wanted to see her.Plus Josh showed me that we would be staying in Libery Hotel, a historical landmark right downtown.Everything we wanted to see would be within walking distance.I couldn't resist.I forced the kids to go and we all had a blast.

The first day we spent at the Boston Science Center.It was a wonderful place, there were tons of hands on exhibits, live shows, and an amazing children's area to play in.Grace got to be a part of the lightning show, Isaiah got to be a part of the solar energy show, and Mosiah got dressed as a skunk in the play area and all the ladies were just swooning over how cute he is.We saw a beautiful movie about Australia and had BBQ ribs for lunch.When the science center was closing Josh walked over to pick us up and together we walked to the famous Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market.There we feasted on Boston Chowder and fresh squeezed orange juice.We also bought historical souvenirs. The colonial hat was everyone's favorite.The boys fought over it for the next three days.

The next day, when Josh attended his conference, I took the kids on a historical walking tour with a costumed actress as our guide.She was delightful.She not only told the stories of the American Revolution, but she told us about all of the quirks of our famous founding fathers.The kids were laughing all day.Our tour ended about 1 pm at Faneuil Hall and we pigged out on Boston Chowder again.Even though Nephi, Grace, and Mosiah were very tired, Samuel and Isaiah really wanted to do a second tour of the north side of historic Boston.So we set off walking, looking, listening and laughing again.All was well until Nephi needed to use the restroom.Boston is a beautiful city; it looks very European.Unfortunately, it shares with Europe its lack of public restrooms!I had to run a mile and a half with Nephi before we found a place that would let a little kid use a restroom!

Our tour ended at a historical Puritan graveyard.It is interesting to note that none of the gravestones had crosses; instead they all had skulls with wings.This was a Puritan symbol of the soul having triumphed over the physical body. Very interesting, and it gave the graveyards and extra eerie feeling.

About a 15 minute walk from the graveyard is the USS Constitution, a war sail ship used in the war of 1812.Samuel and Isaiah wanted to continue walking to the ship!By that time we had already walked five hours! The weather was sunny and 80 degrees.It was hot and we were in desperate need of ice cream.And as luck would have it, we walked right into an ice cream shop.We all had smoothies, except Grace, who wanted ice cream with sprinkles.

Our walk to the USS Constitution was well worth it.It's a breathtaking ship that we got to walk on, climb, touch, and even listen to a tour guide.The ship has never been defeated in a battle and its nickname is Old Ironsides because even though it's made out of wood, cannon balls would rarely penetrate it because the wood is so hard.Usually the cannon balls just bounced off.Next to the ship is the USS Constitution Museum that has perhaps the best children's museum we have ever visited.The kids got to dress, cook, scrub decks, sleep, and work like sailors.It was fantastic.

At the end of the day when the ship museum closed Josh picked us up and took us to the Boston Museum of fine Arts so we could see some real Egyptian mummies.The pet mummies were our favorite.

The last day, the kids were dying to go to the science museum again, because we saw less than half of it.The kids got to do hands on experiments, testing food for sugar, starch, and protein.And we they got to participate in an engineering competition, to see who could design the fastest bobsled, out of plastic, straws, batteries, and cloth.I won and got to name the bobsled team Hardman.

Each day when we got back to the hotel after a day full of walking the kids said that their feet had been Boston Massacred.Speaking of which, the site of the Boston Massacre is in the middle of a busy street on a concrete 'island'.It is marked by a star in the cobble stones.From it you can see the building where the Declaration of Independence was first read to the public.Maybe you can make it out in the pictures.

Of all of the places I have visited in my life, I must say that Boston may be my favorite.My kids and I love American history, and Boston has an abundance of it.

And last but definitely not least, I got to visit and spent time with my dear friend Irene and her beautiful children.I'm glad we are just six hours away, but I wish we would live just down the street from each other, like in Iowa, so we could see each and our kids could play every day.

2 comments:

I forwarded this to my parents who are thinking of taking some grandkids to Boston. Your account should tip the scales for them.

When I was very little, our family lived in Boston while my dad went to school. Even though I was only two or three years old at the time, I still vaguely remember visiting Old Ironsides. It made quite the impression on my very young mind.

Hi. :) I stumbled upon your blog from a comment you made on another blog. I just want to say thank you for speaking your mind, and being a great example of honest humility.PS. I think it is great that you took your kids out of school that week; what a superior education they got with their family!!! Corine :D

I as a child

About Me

I was born in Poland in 1973 during the cold war. My family defected first to Germany and then to the U.S.A. In America my life turned to tragedy and despair...but only until I met the Mormon Missionaries who introduced me to the right way to live. Now I live in the happy ever after. All the good things in my life come from being married to a perfect man, from being a member of the LDS church, and from my family.
I write on my blog in both English and Polish.